Part of headlight upgrade is what gauge wire you currently have.
Original older 6 volt vehicles were larger gauge, which should be fine. Later 12V vehicles reduced the gauge. If the harness has been replaced, it's probably 16-18 gauge, so a bit small for bright headlights.
I really don't like the LEDs with sometimes they are obnoxiously bright and wrong, with most LED bulbs that go into H4 housings don't focus the light properly. They just shoot light all over the place. That makes them bright but obnoxious to everone else.
I've run Hella H4 housings and Sylvania Silverstar bulbs in all my vehicles for years. The good Hellas are about the same cost as those futuristic looking LEDs(which personaly don't fit the older truck look). Hellas look stock, and are european DOT designed, not Chinese knockoffs. If you have small gauge wire, a high current relay setup is recommended. I put that in my '91 GMC, to boost current using 12 gauge from the battery. That factory is 18-20 gauge, so not much current flow.
Both of my dads '58s have very dim headlights, and I've been trying to do the relays and Hella on them, but he wants the total stock look, including dim lights until the RPMs get high enough.
Last edited by Chip O; 09/17/2024 5:54 PM.
